THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team will travel to Arizona, the Chicagoland area and Long Island, N.Y., competing in four distinct areas of the United States against strong fields in each of its four fall events, finishing off the slate with the 15th Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Oct. 22-24 at its home course in Alpharetta, Ga.
Two events not played last fall because of COVID-19 return to the Yellow Jackets’ schedule this fall, beginning with the Maui Jim Intercollegiate Sept. 10-12 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and ending with the Golf Club of Georgia event.
Tech is competing for the fourth time at the Maui Jim, which includes 12 teams who compete in NCAA regionals last spring, four of which advanced to the NCAA Championship. The event is held at Mirabel Golf Club, located near the site of the NCAA Championship, Grayhawk Golf Club.
Thirteen postseason teams are among the 14 competing at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, eight of which played in the NCAA Championship, including defending national champion Pepperdine and ACC powerhouses Clemson and Wake Forest, as well as traditionally-strong Western teams Southern California, Stanford, Texas A&M, TCU and UCLA.
In between are two events new to the Yellow Jackets, the Windon Memorial Classic Sept. 27-28 in Glencoe, Ill., and the Hamptons Intercollegiate Oct. 4-5 in East Hampton, N.Y. Eight teams that competed in NCAA regionals last spring are in the field for the Windon, including host Northwestern, at Lake Shore Country Club on the banks of Lake Michigan. Six NCAA regional teams, including host Loyola (Md.), will compete in the Hamptons event at the Maidstone Club, located along the Atlantic Ocean on Long Island.
“We want to provide as much of a varied experience for our guys as we can,” said head coach Bruce Heppler. “We wanted to head back to Arizona since the NCAA Championship will be out there once again, and it’s a holiday week, so we’ll play some extra rounds ahead of the tournament. We’ve never been to the Northeast, and there’s a lot of highly-rated golf courses on Long Island. Maidstone is supposed to be a heck of a place, and the golf course is Chicago is a great one. You never know where your NCAA regional will be, and these courses will be a great experience for learning and adapting to different environments, grasses and conditions.
“We’re proud of our home course (The Golf Club of Georgia) and enjoy having great teams from all over the country come here each fall. It’s a great opportunity to test our guys against a national field. We try and take care of the teams that come here, and the course presents a great challenge.”
The Yellow Jackets return four of five starters from last spring’s team that finished 15th at the NCAA Championship – senior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.), juniors Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) and Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), and sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) – and are ranked No. 17 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll.
Connor Howe enters his fourth year in the Tech program after posting five top-11 finishes this summer on the amateur circuit. (photo by Clyde Click)
FALL SCHEDULE DETAILS
Maui Jim Intercollegiate
- Dates: September 10-12 (18 holes each day)
- Venue: Mirabel Golf Club (7,081 yards, par 70), Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Participating teams (16): Georgia State (host), Arizona, Augusta, Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, Cal, Colorado State, Denver, Georgia Tech, Louisville, New Mexico, Oregon, San Diego State, Utah, and Washington
Windon Memorial Classic
- Dates: September 27-28 (36 holes first day)
- Venue: Lake Shore Country Club (6,844 yards, par 71), Glencoe, Ill.
- Participating teams (15): Northwestern (host), Cal Poly, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, Marquette, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, South Florida, UC Davis, UCLA, Washington
Hamptons Intercollegiate
- Dates: October 4-5 (36 holes first day)
- Venue: Maidstone Club (6,673 yards, par 72), East Hampton, N.Y.
- Participating teams (12): Loyola Maryland (host), California, Duke, Georgetown, George Washington, Georgia Tech, Liberty, Northwestern, Penn, Princeton, Virginia, Yale
Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate
- Dates: October 22-24 (18 holes each day)
- Venue: Golf Club of Georgia, Lakeside Course (7,017 yards, par 72), Alpharetta, Ga.
- Participating teams (14): Georgia Tech (host), Clemson, Colorado State, Duke, East Tennessee State, Pepperdine, Southern California, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, TCU, UCLA, Virginia, Wake Forest
Incoming transfer Ross Steelman reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur in August. (photo by Clyde Click)
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team has completed 26 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 64 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
